At a meeting of the Council of Ministers this Thursday, two resolutions regarding measures to combat drought were approved. In the Algarve, recognizing the alarming drought situation until 30 September, support for emergency measures has been identified with an indicative budget allocation of €26.65 million. The money will be shared with the State Water Supply, receiving 12.4 million euros; o Tourism: 10 million euros; o Agriculture: 0.35 million euros; o Management, monitoring and verification of water resources: €2.9 million.
Previous budget allocations cover investments related to dead volume capture of the Odeluka and Arade dams, new underground collections for public water supply, water efficiency in the tourism sector and awareness campaigns to save water.
Therefore, the Ministry of the Environment decided to “immediately limit the use of water in urban consumption, as well as in the tourism and agricultural sectors, by taking, among others, the following measures: o Reduce water pressure in the public water supply network; o Suspend the use of public or drinking water for watering green spaces, public and private gardens, decorative fountains, artificial lakes, washing sidewalks, public places and vehicles, and for sealing roads; o Promote the use of water for previous reuse; o Suspension of water supply from the public network through water meters that do not produce wastewater (so-called “irrigation meters”); o Assess and, if necessary, implement emergency additional transportation and water supply solutions for public water supplies. , namely mobile desalination plants and water transportation along various routes; o Downward revision of water supply tariffs for residential and non-domestic consumers, as well as for non-wastewater-generating uses.”
The alarming situation is due to the level of water reserves in reservoirs below 50%. A reality that arises from the lack of replacement during wet periods, resulting in constant shortages.
Groundwater storage levels are also extremely low, with approximately 84% of groundwater bodies having storage capacity below the 20th percentile.
It is also established “that each municipal user is limited to a value corresponding to 85% of the volume registered for the same period in 2023.”
“Forecast a consumption tariff that exceeds the limit provided for by the previous measure. Introduce a number of restrictions on the use of water in urban consumption, as well as in the tourism and agricultural sectors. Strengthen control. Update collective irrigation emergency plans to include the suspension of new irrigated areas. And determining the temporary and urgent review of water rights issued for surface water capture,” are some of the actions that will be taken.
The volume pumped from the Funcio reservoir to the Arad reservoir will be reduced by “40% compared to the previous year,” according to the Ministry of Environment. Another goal is to “reduce by 50% the volume of water consumed in the Sotavento-Algarvio irrigation perimeter compared to 2023” and also to “limit the use of water stored in the Bravura reservoir to public water supply only, subject to temporary suspension.” use of water rights for other purposes.”
Among the various measures presented are also: “Suspend the assignment of new ownership rights to water intakes from 22 groundwater bodies (critical state), with the exception of intakes intended to ensure the sustainability of the irrigation perimeters of Sotavento do Algarve and Alvor, and intakes intended for watering animals on licensed farms that have no more sustainable alternative”; “Determine a temporary and urgent review of all groundwater abstraction rights with a reduction in the title volume by 15%”; and “Allow underground water abstraction for survival irrigation: in Sotavento, up to a maximum limit of 2.5 hm3/year, with the possibility of increasing to 4.5 hm3/year; in Alvor – up to a maximum limit of 0.5 hm3/year; and, in the Western sector – up to a maximum limit of 0.5 hm3/year.”
It is also recommended to mobilize exceptional support to minimize the impact of drought for 2024 and 2025 of up to €200 million (€100 million per year) in the form of specific support for the Algarve and South-West Alentejo region of €100 million. M€.
The Ministry of the Environment also decided to “determine that appropriate measures, including legislative ones, be ensured to provide EDIA – Empresa de Desenvolvimento e Infraestruturas do Alqueva, SA, with the necessary skills to promote and manage the procedure for the acquisition of centralized supplies. desalinated water to replenish the Bravura and Santa Clara reservoirs.”
Author: João Saramago
Source: CM Jornal
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